Ruidoso’s first nursing home in more than a decade has opened its doors, and the first resident moves in Saturday, according to administrator Barbara Watson.

Three more residents will move in next week at Good Life Senior Living and Memory Care on Vision Drive at the mouth of the Upper Canyon, and at least four more are scheduled to arrive by the end of July.

The 16-bed facility is the 17th home in a group that operates in communities scattered across Texas and New Mexico. The company owns 13 of the centers and manages the others under contact, according to Good Life CEO Dallen Skelley of Causey, NM.

Skelley’s parents, Larry and Donene Skelley own the company. Since they now live here, Ruidoso is the group’s de facto headquarters. To remove any remaining doubt about the village’s status, Larry Skelley said all of Good Life’s site managers and its board of directors will hold their next corporate meeting in Ruidoso next Wednesday and Thursday.

All three Skelleys sat outside Thursday on the home’s large shaded patio and waved at the cars regularly passing slowly by to scan the new building. Larry Skelley says they’re welcome to come in and look around, as many visitors already have. Anyone who wants to set a time in advance can call 575-315-0758.

Watson proudly led an informal tour of the sparkling new facility with its large and home-like living and activity areas, gleaming granite-countered kitchen, attractively landscaped patio courtyard and rooms designed large enough for comfort and small enough to encourage residents to come out and stay active and socially involved.

Watson said the center, like the other homes in the group, strives for the overall look and feel of a comfortable, well-appointed private home and services that are as highly personalized as possible.

“We want to be just like home, as much like home as we can possibly be,” she said. “We’ll serve three home-cooked meals a day, and snacks on demand.”

Housekeeping will be thorough and continuous, she said. The dining room will feature real ceramic dishes and cloth napkins, and each resident’s laundry will be done separately, all as part of the basic monthly fee of about $2,500. Special care requirements and extra services will raise that cost for some residents.

“We’re just like their servants is the way we want them to think of us,” Watson said.

She said she has a staff of five multi-tasking caregivers in place, and more will be added as the home fills up. A registered nurse will come in for one hour each day to help residents manage their medications and answer their questions and concerns.

Each resident’s room is furnished with the resident's own things and is separately heated and cooled. Each room has its own bathroom with shower, and there’s a large separate bathroom with step-in tub and wheelchair-accessible shower for those who need or prefer them.

The center has its own hair and nail center with a beautician’s sink, and Watson said a hairdresser will visit every Monday.

This is Watson’s first job in senior living. She’s a retired school teacher and principal who moved to Ruidoso from Lovington two years ago. She taught a year at the Sierra Blanca Christian School before becoming Good Life administrator in May.

“We came here all the time when I was a child,” she said, “and I just always wanted to live here.”

Larry Skelley said he is still considering a second home of about the same size in Ruidoso.

“We’re waiting for this one to fill up and stabilize,” he said. “We have to know that the demand is there.”

The Skelleys are hoping that the center will develop close ties to the village as has happened with other Good Life homes. Larry Skelley said the local ministerial alliance has already been in touch about holding church services in the activity center.

A local man has promised to hold weekly music and karaoke concerts. He said volunteer reading, adopt-a-grandparent programs for children, Christmas parties and caroling are among other opportunities for giving residents a feeling of involvement with the rest of the community.

“It helps the children and it helps us,” he said. “These are the kinds of things that bless our lives here.”